Solving the real problem
The brief was a training guide. The real need was awareness, skills and ongoing support, working together.
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Case study · Change communications + learning
Restarting a stalled Windows 11 migration, and saving around £3.5m
A global engineering organisation needed to move around 39,000 staff and more than 50,000 devices to Windows 11 and new AI tools. Its first attempt had stalled, and Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 10 was ten months away. The client asked us for a training guide. We showed them they needed much more.
- Client
- A global engineering organisation in the aerospace and defence sector, with sites in the UK, Germany and Canada
- Audience
- Around 39,000 staff and more than 50,000 devices
- We delivered
- Countdown emails, FAQs, posters, videos, micro-learning, user guides and briefing packs, in three languages
- Timescale
- An 18-month programme, starting ten months before the deadline
The challenge
A training guide wasn’t the missing piece.
The organisation’s first attempt at the migration had relied on a single email and a link to a knowledge article written by a technical expert. Most people struggled to follow it, so they ignored it. Helpdesk calls went through the roof, devices weren’t adopted, some data was temporarily lost and a great deal of time was wasted. Eventually the programme was paused.
Underneath the technical problems were human ones:
- Many business teams didn’t know the migration was happening.
- Managers were reluctant to champion a change they didn’t feel part of.
- Staff were worried about the change and couldn’t see what was in it for them.
- Nobody was clear what they actually needed to do, or when.
The stakes were high. Any devices still running Windows 10 after Microsoft’s support deadline would cost the organisation a seven-figure fee for extended support. With ten months to go, the target was to migrate at least 60% of devices before that date.
The client believed the missing piece had been a better training guide, and that was the original brief. We helped them see that the problem was bigger: without awareness, practical skills and support that kept going, the programme would stall again.
What we did
Before, during and after each migration.
We set clear objectives and measurable points of success at the start, then built a complete suite of communications and learning around every stage of each person’s migration.
Before
Build awareness and readiness
Everyone knew it was coming, and why
A series of countdown emails took each person through the weeks before their own migration date, with the tasks they needed to complete ahead of time.
Digital video posters ran on screens and in meeting rooms across the sites, with printed posters for the shop floor and other areas without digital signage. Awareness videos, blending animation, AI presenters and software simulations, explained the change and shared progress and top tips.
Two briefing packs, each designed for a 15 to 20 minute session in person or online, helped spread the message: one to build awareness across the organisation and cascade to managers, and one for frontline managers to use in team talks.
- Countdown emails
- Digital video posters
- Printed posters
- Awareness videos
- Stakeholder briefing packs
During
Step people through it
Plain-language help for every step
Interactive PDF user guides and knowledge articles took people step by step through the tasks before and after their migration, written for staff rather than for IT specialists.
A set of more than 60 FAQs, across eight categories, answered the questions people were most likely to ask, so fewer of them needed to call the helpdesk.
- Interactive PDF user guides
- Knowledge articles
- 60+ FAQs in 8 categories
After
Help people adopt and adapt
Making the new tools worth using
Twenty micro-learning pieces, each under two minutes and focused on a single feature, showed people how Windows 11 and their new AI tools could make everyday work quicker and simpler.
Post-migration emails and support materials helped people settle in, and a third briefing pack shared progress, highlighting the wins and the challenges that had been overcome.
- 20 micro-learnings
- Post-migration emails
- Progress briefing pack
A look at the work
One voice, every channel.
Everything was produced on-brand with the client’s internal branding team, who reviewed and signed off every design, and then translated into German and Canadian French.
How we worked
Agile, measured and responsive.
We were brought in by the company delivering the new equipment and support services, and worked closely with the client’s senior stakeholders, managers, IT, administration and branding teams.
Because the programme ran for 18 months, the communications had to keep pace with it. We turned around new products in three to four weeks and made adjustments in days.
Working with local managers and the helpdesk showed us where people were still getting stuck, and those insights led directly to new micro-learnings, FAQs and knowledge articles.
The outcome
Ahead of target, and well ahead on cost.
By the deadline, 72% of devices had been migrated, 12 percentage points above the client’s target. All the remaining devices have since been migrated successfully.
72%
of devices migrated before the deadline, against a target of 60%
£3.5m
saved in extended support fees, approximately
<1%
our fee for the communications and training, as a share of those savings
Client view
“John has a real talent for turning complex ideas into engaging, impactful learning and communications. From innovative awareness videos and micro-learnings to knowledge articles, briefing packs and beyond. What stands out most is his ability to truly understand what we needed and translate that into something clear, creative and ultimately highly effective.”Programme Director, global aerospace and defence organisation
Why it worked
What made the difference.
Reaching everyone
Email, screens, print, video, manager briefings and three languages meant nobody was left out, from offices to the shop floor.
Measuring and adapting
Clear success measures and regular reviews let us spot problems early and respond with new content in days.
Introducing a new system?
We can help with the communications, the learning or both. Tell us what is changing and we will suggest the simplest way to bring people with you.
Prefer email? john.lawton@harlequinsolutions.com